With a distinctive combination of piano melodies and evocative synths, pianist-composer Belle
Chen's soundworld straddles acoustic and electronic realms. Having experimented with found
sound in an extensive crowd-sourced project during the pandemic, and created classical dedications
– such as Lullaby for Edward, a tribute to Edward Elgar – Chen's new album Ravel In The Forest is
a compelling collection of original music with subtle references to woodland adventures and French
impressionism. The 2023 recording – Chen's debut release via Platoon – sees the composer develop
her love for immersive audio, invoking striking images and stirring the imagination through her
playful pieces.
Born in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, Chen grew up in Australia and New Zealand before moving to the UK.
She's just as influenced by travel and people as by her classical training, and her music spans
multiple genres. In fact, it's difficult to pin-point Chen's style – surely the sign of an interesting
artist – which adds a pinch of exciting, biting electronica to the lush, sometimes minimalist
melodies, of post-classical pianism.
Her performances are a feast for the senses, often combining
visual and olfactory elements to enhance the musical engagement. Now based in London, Chen
draws on emotional associations, rooting her work in time and place – as heard in her 2022 album
Years of Pilgrimage.
Like the French composer whose name is referenced in the new album Ravel In The Forest – Chen
gives importance to the space between notes. 'I like how impressionism provides just enough
information,' she says, 'My music implies; I like to leave room for the audience to fill in their own
lines.'
For Ravel In The Forest – the title also suggests 'ravel', hinting at the bringing together of
material – Chen eschewed the use of field recordings, instead making sometimes surreal
suggestions of the flora and fauna. There's no clarinet recreating a literal cuckoo (as can be heard in
Mahler's first symphony) or oboe as duck (like Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf); instead, a busy
piano flutter hints at a dragonfly, a chirruping synth line is a bird. 'I'm curious about the potential of
instruments,' reflects Chen. 'I have an intention and then transfer it to sound.'
As a multi-instrumentalist, Chen uses a variety of tools to create her desired effects, including felt
piano – an upright that has additional material to dampen the action, creating a softer, rounded tone.
Other timbres, such as plucked strings, are explored in 2019 album Departure, which was recorded
under her own label Eito Music and nominated for the Australian Music Prize in 2020. The sheet
music for Departure – including explanations of the prepared piano techniques (the term used to
describe incorporating extra elements to change the traditional piano sound) such as adding reusable
putty and a metal screw to evoke the timbre of Javanese Gamelan – was published alongside the
album.
There is an international flavour to Chen's compositions, which sometimes includes reimaginations
of folk music, such as the haunting Japanese melody, Sakura, Sakura, the Mongolian tune Baater
Tsogtyn Nagats, and Shui (Water), after the Taiwanese Dark Sky. Chen performs across the globe,
with performance highlights including the Royal Albert Hall’s Steinway Series, Milano Piano City
Midnight Main Stage, Her Majesty’s Theatre Adelaide, Kulturhuset Najaden Concert Hall and the
National Theatre of Korea. Chen was the first Australian artist to officially showcase at
Classical:NEXT, where she performed in 2018.
Her recent commissions and syncs include those for BBC Sounds, BBC Concert Orchestra, Gucci
Archive, London Fashion Week, Shanghai Fashion Week, and The Joffrey Ballet Chicago.
Recognised as an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music in London, Belle Chen is a
Yamaha artist.
